Wyoming at UConn: Know the Foe

Sep. 24—Aman Kidwai, who covers the University of Connecticut for SB Nation's The UConn Blog, weighs in on what Wyoming can expect this weekend against the Huskies.

It's been a rough start to the season, but UConn finally got going on offense a little bit in the second half last week. What would you say was the biggest difference for them in the last two quarters against Army?

Clearly the fact that they made a change at quarterback with Tyler Phommachanh had to have made a difference. He seems to have a different skillset than the other two quarterbacks UConn has already trotted out so far this season.

There have been changes to the coaching staff obviously after Randy Edsall's departure, but the team added Noel Mazzone — former offensive coordinator at a number of P5 schools — as an analyst for the team. Who knows how much influence it was, but it certainly was a new piece of who's involved offensively.

You mentioned Phommachanh at quarterback. What is the biggest danger he presents to a defense?

The other two guys had similar abilities with their legs, but maybe not as much. I imagine what they really see is just the upside in terms of having the full package — the size, the strength and those kinds of things as well, including arm strength.

He's certainly a more capable runner, and I think stuff like the (run-pass option) will be a bigger part of the offense. That's something he came in with more familiarity than some of his predecessors, and we know the impact the RPO can have when you have a size disadvantage.

Defensively, what are some of the greatest struggles the Huskies have had? Is there anyone in particular that's stood out as a potential playmaker in that group?

The defense, as you can probably see from the box scores, has been having its difficulties. Travis Jones is one of the highest-rated defensive tackles in college football, and Lwal Uguak is another guy that's been pretty disruptive on the defensive line.

The secondary is a real weakness, and so is team tackling. That, plus the offense not giving the defense much time to rest, has been a big part of why the defense has struggled.

Obviously it's hard to see what impact Noel Mazzone has made since joining as an analyst last week, but is there a sense of excitement with bringing in such an established offensive coordinator to help out?

Absolutely. For people who have been following UConn football, offensive coordinator has been a tough position to fill. They had some good guys in place in previous years. (Miami offensive coordinator) Rhett Lashlee was here for Randy Edsall's first year, and (Green Bay Packers senior analyst) John Dunn was here for two years before leaving for the NFL.

But then Edsall promoted the offensive line coach to offensive coordinator, and he hasn't done a great job. He had no experience calling plays or being an offensive coordinator, so understandably the offense might struggle a little under those circumstances. Someone with deep offensive coordinator experience — even though it's been a little up-and-down, given Mazzone's track record — is a welcome sight.

The Huskies enter Saturday's game as a 30.5-point underdog. If you had a give a score prediction, what would it be?

I like UConn's chances to cover. They got the backdoor cover against Army. It's a tough one, but I'll put UConn down for seven points, so I'll say 35-7 will be my final score.

Josh Criswell covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at jcriswell@wyosports.net or 307-755-3325. Follow him on Twitter at @criswell_sports.